Morgan Stanley pays $102m to end subprime lending case June 24, 2010 MORGAN Stanley agreed yesterday to pay $102m (£68m) to end an investigation in Massachusetts into unfair lending practices. Martha Coakley, the state’s attorney general, said Morgan Stanley, which funded subprime loans throughout the country, improperly loaned billions of dollars to New Century which then sold loans to unqualified borrowers in the state. Morgan Stanley also [...]
Five-year prison term demanded for trader Kerviel June 24, 2010 CALLING Jerome Kerviel a liar and a cheat, the Paris prosecutor yesterdfay demanded a five-year prison sentence for the rogue trader whose high-profile trial is nearing its end. Prosecutor Jean-Michel Aldebert termed Kerviel a “manipulator” and a “cheater” for having built up unauthorised bets worth €50bn (£41.3bn) that nearly brought French bank Societe Generale to [...]
Oracle revenues jump as Sun unit boosts profits June 24, 2010 ORACLE posted quarterly profit that exceeded Wall Street projections yesterday, as its recently acquired Sun Microsystems hardware division added to earnings. The company said Sun added more than $400m (£268m) to Oracle’s operating profit, excluding items. Oracle posted profit, excluding items, of 60 cents per share, for its fiscal fourth quarter ended 31 May, handily [...]
Congo strips Tullow of two oil block deals June 24, 2010 Democratic Republic of Congo has stripped British energy firm Tullow of its rights to two oil blocks on Lake Albert, thought to hold vast crude deposits, according to leaked documents yesterday. Presidential decrees awarded little-known energy firms Caprikat and Foxwhelp, both registered in the British Virgin Islands, development rights to Block 1 and Block 2 [...]
Network Rail’s £2.2m bonuses for executives sparks outrage June 24, 2010 government and trade unions condemned Network Rail yesterday for awarding its top managers bonuses and incentive payments totalling more than £2.2m. Transport secretary Philip Hammond said: “In the week when everyone has been asked to share the burden of reducing Britain’s deficit, people will rightly be asking how Network Rail’s top executives feel this is [...]
Petrofac to set up in Iraq as it seeks to boost orders pipeline June 24, 2010 BLUECHIP oil and gas services company Petrofac yesterday said it expected its backlog of contracts to be higher at the end of the year than it was at the start as its bidding pipeline strengthened. Group backlog is estimated to be around $6.9bn (£4.6bn) on 30 June the FTSE 100 company said and by the [...]
AFTER FINANCE AND FILMS, CITY VETERAN IS STILL FULL OF BEANS June 24, 2010 WILL that Stefan Allesch-Taylor ever stop adding to his already thickly-strung bow? A City veteran of some stature (quite literally: Allesch-Taylor stands a formidable 6’10” tall), he is best known as the founder of boutique Mayfair-based investment bank Fairfax. In addition to that, his CV lists top positions at any number of firms, including Clearbrook [...]
BA to hire cut-price crew to beat strike June 24, 2010 BRITISH Airways (BA) said yesterday it planned to recruit over one thousand new cabin crew on lower wages than current staff as it faces possible further strikes by existing flight attendants in August. The Unite union, which represents 90 per cent of BA’s 12,000 cabin staff, criticised the move which would do nothing to end [...]
BAT shuffles top staff as chief exec Paul Adams retires June 24, 2010 BRITISH American Tobacco said its chief executive Paul Adams will retire next February, to be replaced by chief operating officer Nicandro Durante. The world’s second biggest cigarette-maker said yesterday 53-year-old Durante, who has worked for the company for 29 years, will take over as chief executive designate in September. A number of other staff shuffles [...]
BAA weathers air travel disruption and plans Heathrow improvements June 24, 2010 AIRPORT operator BAA lowered its 2010 profits forecast by £10m yesterday, less than the £40m lost in disruption caused by the British Airways strikes, winter storms and volcanic eruptions. It also rekindled plans for a high speed railway from Waterloo to Heathrow, mooting further investment in rail links and improving Terminal Two with the money [...]